"The market never ceases to befuddle and beguile. These two venerable works are fixtures on the short lists for most valuable books on the securities markets, and investors continue to cherish them." —From the Introduction by Martin S. Fridson Managing Director, Merrill Lynch & Co. Author of Investment Illusions

Exploring the sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating impact of crowd behavior and trading trickery on the financial markets, this book brilliantly combines two all-time investment classics. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Confusión de Confusiones take us from Tulipmania in 1634—when tulips actually traded at a higher price than gold—to the South Sea "bubble" of 1720, and beyond. Securities analyst and author Martin Fridson guides you on a quirky, entertaining, and intriguing journey back through time.

Chosen by the Financial Times as Two of the Ten Best Books Ever Written on Investment

Critical Praise . . .

"This is the most important book ever written about crowd psychology and, by extension, about financial markets. A serious student of the markets and even anyone interested in the extremes of human behavior should read this book!" —Ron Insana, CNBC

"In combining 'Extraordinary' with 'Confusion,' the result is not extraordinary confusion. Instead, with clarity, the book sears into modern investor minds the dangers of following the crowd." —Greg Heberlein, The Seattle Times

"You will see between its staid lines (written in ye olde English and as ponderable as Buddha's navel) that, despite what the media says, nothing really important has changed in the financial markets in centuries." —Kenneth L. Fisher, Forbes

What happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market's? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only-but costs everyone and drains the economy. In "Unwarranted Intrusions," well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms-among many others. "Unwarranted Intrusions" is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good.